I find it interesting the direction that the world seems to be taking! What is good is called evil and what is evil is called good! Scripture is always true, and what God says in His Word is what determines what is good and what is evil! Sadly there are many Christian churches that are altering their beliefs because of the pressure the media is putting on them. I will certainly stand on what God says instead of what the prevailing thought of society is thinking.

God’s Word is God breathed and was given to holy men of God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit to write it down. It is the integrity of His Word that is always at stake. Most people who disagree with the Word do not believe it is God’s Word in the first place. The Word was not written to them, therefore it becomes a waste of time to discuss it with them. The Bible was written to the spiritual man and woman who wants to know God personally. The way to know God personally is to know His Word, believe it, and live it.

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy name.

Once you have the understanding of how important God’s Word is to Him, then knowing God and what His Word says will be important to you. He has magnified His Word above His name! If you know His Word then the adversary cannot trick you with one of his lies.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are not conformed to this world, but we are transformed by renewing our minds to the Word. We are elevating our thinking to God’s way of thinking, which is good (see God’s ways are always good) acceptable (His ways are always acceptable) and perfect (God’s will is perfect). So why would anyone want to line their thinking up with what society is preaching? The only way I would agree with the prevailing thought of the day is if it agreed with what the Word of God says. You see God is ALWAYS good! His Word is always good and His Word is always true.

Now go and read Romans 1, it gives you the truth as to God’s opinion on homosexuality. It totally goes against the prevailing thought of our day and time, but Romans 1 is God’s truth concerning this topic. So what will you believe?

God honors believing!

I wanted to make you aware of something that happened in the summer of 2015 while I was on vacation.

On July 28th I got a text from a friend who we have been praying for and I have been inviting to a fellowship for a number weeks.

He asked me to pray for his mom. Which I immediately started doing.
I then sent him a text asking how she was doing, his response:

“not good.”

When I got his initial text within minutes a coworker sent me a text asking me to pray for her, so we had two agreeing that she would be healed. My wife and family also prayed for her.

I then sent my friend the following text.

I sent these verses to you to help your believing. God is the healer. Pray in the name of Jesus Christ for her health. If you need me to come to the hospital and minister to her I will.

John 14:12-14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

On July 29th I sent him a text asking him how his mom is doing?

The response was it is a miracle of some sort I will better explain tomorrow.

I did not see my friend until August 3rd so when I had the opportunity I sought him out to hear the story.

He told me that his mom had a tumor in her glands specifically the pituitary gland. When the doctors went to run tests on the her on the 29th they could not find any sign of anything wrong. He said his mom said that in the middle of the night God came and healed her, she was crying because God healed her.

I then asked him if he had done what I suggested in the above text. He said yes he repeated over and over that his mom was healed in the name of Jesus Christ.

I told him he had prayed with believing and God had brought it to pass for him. God is the healer.

It sure is wonderful to know we can pray in the name of Jesus Christ, and see deliverance. You see God is always good!

That’s Right! God Is Always Good. His will is health and prosperity for everyone. When we renew our minds to the promises in His Word and believe them, God has to bring them to pass because he is faithful to His Word.

So don’t let the prevailing thought of the day determine what you think. Take what others say to the rightly divided Word and see if it lines up with what God thinks. If it does then you can agree with it, because it fits what God says and is good and acceptable. If it doesn’t agree with what God says then discard it, it’s not worth holding on to thoughts that are contrary to what God says in His Word.

I have never been one to make money my sufficiency, nor have I ever been in love with money. Simply put the love of money is the root of all evil. I believe it is wise to be prepared in case our nation makes unwise and reckless decisions concerning our economy. So let’s take a look at wealth from the spiritual side and the five senses worldly side, so you can make wise decisions concerning both.

First let’s look at the most important aspect which is the spiritual side. God is the most High He is all powerful and He wants us to make Him our sufficiency.

2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

God wants us to make Him our sufficiency. He is our ability, He is our competency; God is our strength. The Bible tells us to trust in Him with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding. It says that in all our ways we should acknowledge Him, and He will direct our steps.

Psalm 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

God will never forsake those that trust in Him. The righteous are those who trust in God. The righteous are the ones who seek God first.

Matthew 6:25-33 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We seek God first, and His righteousness, and all that we need such as food, housing, clothing etc. is added unto us. I think our world has so schooled people to think that Christians should give up everything and live in poverty for God. However this is not what His Word says.

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Jesus said I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly. God wants us to live abundantly in all categories of life; spiritually, mentally and physically. God does not want any of us poverty stricken. Job, Solomon, and Joseph of Arimathea were rich, and many other believers in the Bible were well to do. The key to prosperity is that the money does not become your God.

Take a look for yourself at Proverbs

Proverbs 3:1-10 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

When we keep God’s Word in our heart, so that our every thought and direction are filtered by the truth of God’s Word, we will find ourselves to be healthier and wiser. We will have good understanding in the sight of God and man. God will direct our steps in the path we should go. Notice the Word says to honour the Lord with your substance. The concept of giving as a way of receiving is a foreign concept to most, but there it is plain as day. You will be filled with abundance. I know it says barns and wine presses, and I know most people today are not farmers or vineyard owners. The principle of abundance pouring in and overflowing for a believer still holds true. Give and you shall absolutely receive.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

When you give you absolutely will receive. There you go, I said the previous statement twice in this post it’s established. It says men will give unto your bosom. As an example my wife and I give on a regular basis. We tithe to our church first and foremost. We give financially by tithing, and helping others where we can. We also give of our time by helping people move, baby sitting,or making a meal for them. Our favorite way to give is to invest in peoples lives to teach people God’s Word so they can apply it for themselves. You know what? We always receive back abundantly for the giving we do. In fact we receive above and beyond all that we could ask or think because God is always true to His Word!

So there you have the spirituals side of financial wealth.

Now lets take a look at the five senses side of abundance. The governments of the world including the powerful United States have been spending recklessly without balancing their budgets. Now anyone who knows anything about business knows that you cannot continue to spend and spend and spend. There has to be an intake of funds that at least equals or preferably exceeds the amount of money going out. Many years ago the currency of the United States was tied to the gold standard. In the seventies president Nixon removed that attachment so that the U.S. government could print all the paper money it wanted without any gold to back it up. This is what you call a fiat currency. It is just paper money that is not actually worth anything as there is no gold to back it up.

If you have paid any attention to world events you will notice that there are governments going belly up. One of these events happened in Cyprus, where the government went in and robbed people of 10% of their savings and checking accounts to help cover the government’s incompetence in balancing their budget.

As you can see the worlds governments are not necessarily doing the right thing. The list of countries in trouble continues to grow. So the question you can ask yourself is what can I do in the physical category to protect myself? If you are Christian you will first keep the Word of God resonating in your heart. While the Word of God does say that getting wisdom and understanding of God and His Word is far better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold [Proverbs 3:13-14]. I believe it is wise to be prepared for a country and world economic melt down. Just like when Y2K came around everyone prepared for it. I remember buying extra water and food, flashlights, batteries, and extra cash on hand in case the world shut down because the computers of the world only had dates up until the year 2000. It was a crazy time, and I’m thankful the computer collapse never came, but I’m glad I was prepared.

Having a plan in place to protect yourself during turbulent economic times is a necessity. We have learned that preparation is the highest form of believing. It may not be purchasing gold or silver, but whatever God puts on your heart you should carry out. In my opinion it wouldn’t hurt to purchase some gold or silver for yourself. Am I talking about making gold or silver your sufficiency? NO! A thousand times no. God is your sufficiency. If God could take care of Elijah when he was hiding from Ahab he can take care of you also. If there is an economic collapse (I’m praying and believing there isn’t) paper money is going to be useless. The value of gold and silver is going to skyrocket. Having some gold or silver during an economic crisis could be a wise move. I’m not talking about buying a ton of gold or silver that would be making the precious metals your sufficiency. I’m talking about buying enough to hold you through the world economy straightening out.

I know gold is more expensive than silver, but both can be purchased on ebay or through Gold Money, Monex, or other gold producing companies like Karatbars. Gold can be purchased in increments of a gram or higher. Purchasing gold by the gram makes it so the average middle class person can afford to purchase it. At the time of this writing you can purchase a gram of gold from Karatbars for $67.00. Perhaps you could buy a gram a month for 12 months or so. You can even have some of these companies store your gold for you. It’s wise to have a reputable gold dealer like Gold Money or Karatbars store your gold. Make sure you choose a company that will actually have the gold and not give you a certificate for gold that does not exist.

I read recently that the U.S. government wants all bullion distributors in the United States to have a record of who purchased gold from them. This may be for confiscation purposes if the U.S. economy collapses. During the depression Roosevelt made it illegal for Americans to own gold and confiscated it at way below it’s market value. I wouldn’t be surprised if our current government officials did the same thing if the United States economy did collapse. My suggestion is to purchase some gold from an overseas company like Karatbars and have them store it for you. Is there a risk? I suppose there is, but there is also the risk that the government will do as they did in Cyrprus and take 10% or more of what is in the bank. However having some assets in another country I believe is a wise idea. Karatbars and Gold Money are independenttly audited each month. Gold Money is a U.S. bullion dealer, Karatbars is German. I believe there is a fee for storage at Gold Money, Karatbars will store your gold for at free at their German Location.

Silver of course is much less expensive and can be purchased in bars, or pre 1964 coins which are 90% silver. There are plenty of silver coins and ounce bars of silver on ebay. Silver is a great way to gather precious metals to have in case something happens with the world economy.

In conclusion, you and I can protect ourselves by first trusting in the Lord God and believing His magnificent Word. As was shown earlier; God will never leave you nor forsake you. When you trust God you will never have to beg bread, because He always backs up His promises and comes through abundantly. The next thing you can do is teach others about the power of God and His great promises. The more people that believe God and His promises the better. Our God is a God of deliverance, He will come through again and again and again. Now that we have established God first, think through what you want to do by the five senses to be prepared for an economic downturn. You could purchase some silver on ebay or from a precious metals bullion company like Gold Money or Karatbars. I chose Karatbars and linked it if for you in case you wanted to go there and check it out. (I will tell you that I do get compensated for you buying off of this link. I don’t really care if you buy off of the link or not, my main point in writing this article is to help people be prepared for economic problems.) Karatbars is a German company that sells gold in smaller increments so the middle class guy can afford to buy it. I like them because they will store your gold for free (German location only) or you can have it shipped to you. They also do not require you to have your bank account number on file with them. I believe the American bullion dealers want your bank account number! I’m somewhat leary when some one else has access to my bank account number. Do the best you can to think through what will be best for you! Allow God work in you to will and to do of His Good pleasure, and be sure you have a plan in place.

It seems like every where I go people are negative. Truthfully people are a product of what they feed on. For instance the news in this country is on twenty four seven, and I think most people are following the news, and believing what it is saying. As an experiment put the news on sometime and see how much of it is negative. How often do you see positive newscasts? It is so very seldom that the news has anything good to report. In fact I recently decided to rename the news media, after listening to an awesome teaching on the life of Jeremiah. I think Magor- Missabib is an appropriate name for the news corporations of America and the world. This name means terror round about or fear on every side. The question you can ask yourself when the news comes on is do I want to live and believe the fear that the news is promoting?

Now if you decided that you do not want to live in fear, then what are you going to put in place of the national and local news media to keep your self positive. There are many good books on positive confession and a trip to the self improvement section of any bookstore will provide you with an abundance of information on the topic. Of course all these books draw their information from one source God’s Word whether they know it or not. God started it all, He is all positive, He is light, there is no darkness in Him at all.

I am fully convinced the victory is mine because I have chosen God’s Word as my standard for believing in todays day and time. Let me just say that there are tons of great verses to help you stay positive no matter what the news media is reporting! So I figured I’d list some here in this article, and let you pick out some of these verses to believe and confess.

II Samuel 22:1-4 And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul: 2.And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; 3.The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence. 4. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Psalm 9:9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

Psalm 9:9 Amplified The Lord also will be a refuge and a high tower for the oppressed, a refuge and a stronghold in times of trouble (high cost, destitution, and desperation ).

Psalm 18:1-3 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.2.The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 3. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

Psalm 37:40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him

Psalm 46:1 KJV God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1 Amp God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Psalm 62:7-8 KJV In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. 8.Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Psalm 62:7-8 Amp With God rests my salvation and my glory; He is my Rock of unyielding strength and impenetrable hardness, and my refuge is in God! 8.Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Psalm 97:10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 107:6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

Jeremiah 1:8Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 1:19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

Jeremiah 39:17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.

Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

II Timothy 4:17-18Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.18And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

II Peter 2:9The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

II Timothy 3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

I know this is an abundance of verses to look at but the message is clear, believe God and live without fear. God is all love, when you walk in His love, you walk boldly and fear cannot be there. Simply put you can say the Victory is Mine when you line your thinking up with what He says in His Word. So make God’s Word what you feed on, it is a feast that will make you a winner.

Jeremiah 15:16 Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

Perhaps the greatest seasons in my life have been the times when I have had something to celebrate. It may have been getting a job at the right time or winning at a sporting event or seeing my wife or children victorious at something. It may even be getting through a hurricane, or tragic event without you or your family getting injured. I would venture to say that it may be a good idea to start recording your victories either on DVD, CD or in a diary or note book. I think it’s good to be able to remind yourself of a time when you won at something. Especially when things are not exactly going the way you planned. Hearing your victories or seeing them either on DVD, or by reading seems to have a way of helping to see your way through the next challenge when things aren’t going your way.

My wife is very diligent at recording the victories we have had in our family. Over the years we have had many challenges that have lead to victory. We like to remind ourselves what God has done for us. I know that not everyone believes in God, but having reminders of when you won at something whether you believe in God or not is truly a great idea. What you’re around you become. If I fed my mind with all negatives then my mind set when taking on a challenge is going to be negative. If I feast on images and words that are all about victory then my mind set going into a situation is going to be that of winning. It’s your mind what will you do with it?

Recently we decided to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in the great state ofHawaii. Hawaii has always had a special place in our hearts because we got engaged in Honolulu. A return to the beginning of our love became necessary. Now we’ve talked about going toHawaii for years but the how of going was always a financial challenge. We kept the vision of going for many years by having a positive mindset, and putting Hawaii on our vision board. If you have never heard of vision board then click on the ad at the top of the website, and check one out. A vision board is a way of putting what you are believing for in front of your eyes. It reminds you of what you want in life. Within a week of deciding to go to Hawaii this year, incredible deals and bargains became available through a travel agent. This made it available for us to enjoy a tremendous week in Honolulu. It was a great victory for, us after all 25 years of marriage is nothing to sneeze at in this day when divorce is rampant.

We now have a picture book of our Hawaii vacation, which we can look at to remind us of this awesome victory. That picture book is now a key piece in seeing our next victory. It’s something we can celebrate every time we look at it.

To often people get caught up in the seriousness of life and forget to celebrate when they have a victory. Life is too short to allow yourself to get so caught up in how tough things can be. What you do with your mind will determine your victories. Having your victories recorded may help you overcome the challenges that everyone seems to have at times. I say it sure is a lot more fun too celebrate, celebrate, celebrate, than to focus on all the negatives that society throws at you. The VICTORY is yours just don’t forget the CELEBRATION!!

I’ll never forget that day as long as I live. I got out on the ice and felt my ankles buckle as soon as I tried to push off. People were skating around me like I was standing still. The hockey equipment I was wearing felt bulky and clumsy, and I had no chance of even touching the puck that night. I looked like a fool who was stuck in glue trailing behind every other person on the ice. That night was a real eye opener for me. I realized that for me to play the sport of hockey I had to be committed in my mind to work at the sport, and I needed to get some equipment that was better than the poor gear I played in that night.

Winning in life begins with a decison. If you do not make a choice to commit to work at something then you will never win. However if you decide you are going do something, but put forth no effort, you also will not achieve the results you desire. There has to be a deep burning desire in your heart to work at your craft to make yourself a winner.

Thinking through the details of how you are going to attain the goal is a tremendous key in training your mind to win. A man who does not come up with a plan to accomplish his goals, but goes though life winging it may not ever reach the finish line. For example when I began playing hockey on a regular basis I set up a basic plan of how I was going to get better. I budgeted money for the equipment I needed, and began scouring the local sporting goods store for the best equipment deals. The first things I bought were skates, a hockey stick and a puck. Any time our local ice arena had a family skate night I was there practicing my skating. I also skated and practiced stick handling at the local outdoor skating rink at least two to three times a week. Each time I practiced I would push my self to the point of exhaustion. By the end of the year I was told I was most improved player. That first year of play contained many victories for me.

Since a distracted mind is a defeated mind it is clear that training your mind to win involves many of the principles I applied to get better at hockey. I made up my mind I was going to get better at the game of hockey and did. I stayed focused on my objective and pushed my mind and body to learn and improve at the game. You and I will win when we stay focused on the task at hand. A major part of focus is your confession. If a person is looking to get better at something while confessing that they are no good at it, I can only think they will not be victorious at reaching their objective.

It’s like the old story of the Little Engine that Could. It was the little engine’s mind set and confession that got him over the mountain. If he had gotten half way up the mountain and started saying I know I can’t, I know I can’t, the little engine never would have made it over the peak of that mountain. The little engine confessed and believed to go over to the other side.

There’s an awesome verse in the Bible that translated literally says Believing is the title deed to things prayed for, the evidence that those things are yours before they are seen. A person that has trained his mind to win knows this. He or she confesses and believes to attain his goal even though it is not seen. I call this mindset, you set your mind on the object of your affection and you confess and act on it until it comes to pass.

This principle works in all categories of life, sports, job, health, wealth, and obtaining material things. You will win when you make a decision, coupled with the desire to take the action to bring it to pass. By making a plan and confessing positives about the situation you will be victorious. It’s stayed mind believing that brings victory! Believe and you shall absolutely recieve. You are a winner!!

For years I had this red spot on my face. I really didn’t know what it was, and left it alone because it really didn’t bother me. So one day my wife asks me to get it checked out to be sure it’s not cancer. I’m thinking I know this is not cancer. Why waste the time and the money to have this checked out? Realizing that this would bring my wife peace of mind I made an appointment with a dermatologist to have it checked out.

As I arrived in the office of the dermatologist I’m thinking she’s going to look at this prescribe me some ointment or cortisone cream and send me home. At last the assistant to the doctor called my name and I headed to your typical room for patient doctor consultation. As soon as the doctor arrived in the room and the intial small talk was out of the way she took a look at the spot. She looked puzzled so I asked her “what do you think it is?” Her response shook me. “I don’t know I think we need to do a biopsy to be sure!” “You’ve got to be kidding me this was supposed to be simple.” I thought as I said “let’s go ahead and do it.”

Five or six days later I got the results of the biopsy. ” Rick you have a skin disease called Granuloma Annulare.” “What in the world is that.” “It’s a non cancerous skin disease that the doctor would like to treat with Clobetasol, I’ll call the prescription in to your Pharmacy.” I thank God I have insurance because by itself this stuff sells for $65.00.

So I get my prescription and of course I read the side effects before beginning the treatment regimen. After a few weeks of using this stuff, my face is beginning to break out in these bumps all around the initial Granuloma Annulare red spot. So I decided to make another appoinment and go back to the dermatologist. “Well Rick it looks to me like the Granuloma Annulare is spreading, and I think that we need to do some blood work.” “I had blood work done a few weeks ago when I had a physical can’t we just check with my doctor and use the blood work that was done at that time.” It was at this moment that I realized that this doctor did not have a clue on how to cure this disease. Remember I read the prescription side effects and one of the side effects happens to be skin irritation. My skin really started to get irritated after I began using this steroid cream. “Can you write down the name of this disease? I’ll research this on my own.” The doctor knew that I didn’t believe that the disease was spreading, although she did her best to convince me. I payed my copay and left never to return again.

I’m a believer in God and His Word so the first thing I did when I got home was to pray to God for a solution. Next I went online looking for natural cures to this disease. One of the cures mentioned by an individual caught my attention. They got rid of Granuloma Annulare by drinking apple cider vinegar every day. It was then that it clicked in my brain what I could do for myself. I remembered that apple cider vinegar kicks poison ivy’s butt out the door. When you put vinegar on poison ivy the itch goes away instantly and the poison ivy disappears fairly quickly. So I bought some Bragg organic apple cider vinegar and began putting it on my face each morning and night for 20 minutes to an hour. I’d take a ball of cotton pour vinegar on it, and hold it on the disease spot on my face. Sure enough I could feel the spot stinging and noticed after a couple days that when it was time to stop there was puss oozing out of the Granuloma Annulare. After about a week of steadily doing this twice a day my face had scabs where all the Granuloma Annulare bumps were. People were concerned about me when they saw me, but I just told them I’m getting rid of Granuloma Annulare.

I decided that it would be a good idea to assist in the healing process, so I started putting aloe on the scabs. I went to our local Plant Nursery and bought an aloe plant. It costs between seven and ten dollars, and is a lot cheaper than what the lousy Clobetasol prescription would have cost an uninsured person. When I bought the plant I learned that a simple way of applying the aloe to the spot that needs healing is to cut a small sprig, and squeeze it until the juice oozes out. Wipe the aloe juice on the spot that needs healing and allow it to dry. After using the sprig I put it in a sandwich bag, and store it in the refrigerator until it is time for my next application. What was once an ugly aberration on my face is now barely visible and will eventually totally disappear as I continue putting aloe on it. God is good to me, He heals me when I believe His Word. I’m thankful for a solution to a disease that the doctor didn’t have a clue how to cure. God is Great.

Recently I was spending my time on Facebook checking out what my friends were saying when I noticed that a good friend was dealing with allergies. She was feeling terrible had lost her voice and was taking medicine. Not a good scene especially for some one who needs her voice to effectively do her job. I decided to email her, a logical thing to do since we live on opposite coasts. I wanted to build her believing by encouragement.

Here’s the message I sent her:

What allergies do you have? Good verses on healing.

3 John 2
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

God cares about every detail and aspect of your life.

1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

It has been done by Jesus Christ. I’ll lift you in prayer. Do what you can physically also. For instance I take 10 alfalfa in the morning and 10 at night. Our area is the allergy capital of the world. Ultimately all healing is a gift from God it’s yours to claim.
Bless Rick

God’s healing is done in Christ Jesus our Lord. Our only responsibility is to believe, and be fully persuaded in what God has done in His son.

Hi Rick,

Thanks for the prayers and scripture verses. I am not sure what allergies I have, but they have me hard. Maybe the change in weather. We have gone from over 100 to rainy and drizzle in the high 60″s low 70’s.

My voice comes and goes. I’ve never heard about alfalfa, but maybe I will try it. I will think more positively and claim God’s healing as my gift. He knows how valuable a voice is to teach his children. I love reading from the children’s Bible to them. We are on Exodus now. It’s cool that we can do scripted and spontaneous prayer, rosary, and Bible quotations all in one day, at times. I am very blessed.

It’s amazing what a change in mindset can do for an individual. By changing her thought process to a positive mindset she was already feeling better, and confessing it to others. No matter how you feel it’s important to confess that God is the healer. Because of what He did in Jesus Christ you are healed! IT IS DONE!!

Her next message to me went like this:

Hi Rick,

It is so amazing Rick! After I read your message ( reminding me of the power in positive thinking), I woke up feeling much, much better! My voice was actually back the very next morning. God is so good! And I thank you for your prayers and for that boost of believing with positive thoughts of healing. You are such a good friend and such a positive influence in my life. I thank God for giving me such a powerful prayer warrior in my life. He knew (in His infinite wisdom) that I could use such a warrior in my life at the time you just magically appeared through Facebook. Even though the Internet has had some negative aspects in the lives of people, there has been some real benefits.

Have a blessed Sunday, and always know that I am a grateful and positive follower of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Blessings to you and your family,

I just love the the meek believing heart that this individual has. She took the information that was provided to her and claimed it in her heart. She synchronized her confession with the positive thoughts in her mind and got healed. Have you ever been around someone who will say they are believing for something, but every word out of their mouth contradicts what they say they are believing for. If a friend asks you to pray for them , but continues to talk about how sick they are, then they most likely won’t get healed to quickly, if at all. You can always tell what people are really thinking by listening to their conversation after. I regularly do a check up from the neck up to keep my mind focused on the positive things I’m believing for.

Healing is available from God! The key to this healing is finding the promise that meets your need in his Word and claiming it. My friend took the Word that I shared with her, claimed it and got healed. What will you do?

Years ago I used to listen to an awesome group called Bob Stanley & Acts29 that really rocked the house as a Christian Rock band. Their music was fresh and alive and caused the listener to reflect on the Word of God with a passion for truth. I loved listening to this band so much so that I eventually wore the cassette tapes out by overplaying them. It was a sad day for me when I tossed those tapes in the trash.

Recently I rediscovered Bob or Robert Stanley while surfing on the internet. Much to my surprise and joy I discovered that Mr. Stanley had a secular CD available to us music lovers. After listening to this CD on his web site, I had to make a purchase. When it arrived it went strait into my CD player and has pretty much been there ever since.

This CD is in Bob’s own words ” ROCKABLUESIC”, its a combination of blues and rock, blended together into an awesome conglomeration of music that needs to be heard, and heard, and heard. You won’t want to take it out of your CD player or your ipod (thats right you can go to Itunes and buy individual tunes). If you’d like to go to Roberts website and give him a listen here’s a link to his website Roadmans Hammer .

You can also listen to some Mp3 clips right here on this site if you’d like, any way you look at it you’ve got to check this out. For me getting blessed by good music is just one of Lifes Victories that is sweet to the soul.

I’ve seen so many things in life that merit confrontation and believing in the face of opposition. Recently a friend of mine who I have known for at least 40 years was searching for a job in these hard economic times. Her husband was also out of work, and money was starting to get tight. For the longest time the two of us prayed and believed for her and her husband to get a job. It’s easy to be confident when you’re in a position that doesn’t face opposition. For example when a person is working and not in a situation of immediate need it can be much easier to believe. As opposed to a person who only has a certain amount of time before her money runs out and they end up in foreclosure. In a pressure situation it is easy to begin to fear. Now I’m not saying that my friend was close to being foreclosed; on she was far from that! What I am saying is she was in a situation where it would have been easy to become fearful.

I’ve been schooled in how to believe rightly in any situation, and I’ve spent years studying this topic. When my friend ended up in her challenge I encouraged her to keep her believing locked in to a positive mind set. We prayed together for the longest time and nothing seemed to happen, but we stayed faithful. Not long ago a friend of mine was reading a book called What YouSay is What You Get by Don Gossett. I purchased this book and began reading it. Recognizing that what Mr. Gossett was sharing would help my friend, I suggested she purchase a copy of the book and apply the principles taught to her situation. She immediately went out and bought a copy and began reading. Within a few weeks of purchasing this book her confession of believing was incredible. While reading What You Say is What You Get she had applied for a job as a 3rd grade teacher and learned that she had an interview. Her confession of belief had become really strong from reading the book. A positive confession is one of the biggest keys in life to obtaining victory in the face of opposition. I decided to enclose her word for word communications to me concerning this subject. Here they are:

“I just started reading that book, and I love it! It makes a lot of sense. I have only read about 50 pages, and it has already answered a lot of questions and given me clarification on things like “confessing” which I had only believed to be negative and not an affirmation of belief.

So I am confessing to possess it: that job is mine! I am not going to let the devil sneak in and give doubt. My faith may not be perfect, but it is bigger than a mustard seed!

I am believing with you without any doubt in my mind.

Thanks, Rick!

Caio,”

My friend and I are believers in God’s Word. If you are not, that is of no matter. You can still operate the principles of believing that are taught in the book. Perhaps one of the greatest things she learned is the importance of a positive confession no matter what. What you say is what you get.

Confessing does equal possessing! Praise God for rewarding my faithfulness in His Word. I was blessed with that third grade teaching assignment. It has been almost two weeks since I had the interview, but I stayed positive and believing. This morning I got the wonderful news. When I told the principal this is an answer to many prayers, she said that I was the answer to their prayers. The Holy Spirit is really working through us.

I love that book; I am almost done with it! It has helped me to stay focused on being positive. Thank you so much for recommending it and for your belief in me through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings to you and yours,

You see she kept believing and confessing until what she desired came to pass. Even if she didn’t get that job, she would have gotten another one. The bible says all thingswhatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing you shallreceive. Victory comes to those who stay faithful and believing to obtain the victory. The interesting thing about believing is you don’t have to believe in God to see results. Believing is a law that works for saint and non saint alike. The key is to continue to confess what you are believing for until you receive it.

Victory in the face of opposition is yours. Our only job is to continue to confess and believe positively to attain victory. No matter what the opposition is, you and I can be successful in all our endeavors, as long as we stay faithful. Fear is our only enemy in its least common denominator. Eliminate fear and you will win in the face of strong opposition. So when you’re running against the wind remember that victory is yours if you keep a faithful and positive confession.